Macedonio Melloni Between Physics and Political Commitment

IL NUOVO CIMENTO Vol. 37 C, N. 4 Luglio-Agosto 2014 DOI 10.1393/ncc/i2014-11812-5 Communications: SIF Congress 2013 Macedonio Melloni between physics and political commitment ∗ E. Colombi( ) Physics and Earth Sciences Department, University of Parma Campus - via G.P. Usberti, 7/a - 43124 Parma, Italy ricevuto il 31 Gennaio 2014; approvato il 29 Maggio 2014 “Melloni’s words have been an electric spark stronger than those produced by his Leyden’s jars” Antonio Gallenga Summary. — Macedonio Melloni is an outstanding figure in the scientific world of the nineteenth century. His life can be divided into two main periods, and the interruption is due to his deep involvement in the political risings that shaked Eu- rope in 1831. In the first period, he was a professor at the School of Physics of the University of Parma. Since the very beginning, he devoted a special attention to the properties of radiant heat, and the theoretical insights about the nature of thermal phenomena were doubled by a smart attitude in improving the laboratory tools. The political events of 1830-31 caused stir inside the University of Parma. Melloni delivered a celebrated speech, leading to stormy meetings, the closure of the School of Physics of the University, the arrests and deportations of students. Nevertheless they gained support from the whole town: Parma in fact rose up and a provisional government was formed of which Melloni himself became a member. Accounts on these events can be found in the documents of the Archivio di Stato (the Public Records Office), as well as in the diary of Lombardini, the Chancellor of the Univer- sity, and in the short stories by Gallenga (a deported student), besides letters and memories of Melloni himself. The subsequent exile, apart from difficulties in private and familiar life, gave him the chance of establishing relations and collaborations with the scientific European circles. Thus, the 1831 uprising caused both dramatic changes and rich opportunities in the career of a patriot who, as others in the same period, was divided between political engagement and scientific passion. PACS 01.65.+g – History of Sciences. PACS 01.75.+m – Science and Society. ∗ ( ) E-mail: [email protected] c Società Italiana di Fisica 285 286 E. COLOMBI 1. – Introduction The events that shook Europe in 1831 caused stir even in Italy, since in that first phase of the Risorgimento period a considerable number of Italian scientists had to balance, their scientific activity with an intense political engagement [1]. Even in the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, the risings involved the whole town of Parma, including the cultural and academic circles. In particular, they seem to have caused the greatest upheaval at the University. Obviously, as everywhere in Europe, the life of many scholars was deeply influenced by such events, as it was the case of the parmesan scientist Macedonio Melloni (1798-1854). The case of Melloni is particularly interesting because the initial negative impact of his political engagement on his life was also the cause of a positive enlargement of his scientific activity and of an interchange with other important European scientists. We shall describe his personal story as regards both the political and the scientific sides. In this sense, the particular case of Melloni intersects other relevant aspects of the cultural life in Italy during the Risorgimento period. We plan therefore to focus on the role played by Melloni during the risings and, con- versely, on the influence these events had on his subsequent life as a man and as a scientist. Our research will highlight some interesting aspects of the ideological and cultural background in Parma through the direct testimony of a number of protagonists. In those days Melloni, as a professor of theoretical and experimental Physics and Director of the an- nexed Physics laboratory, was only at the beginning of his academic career. However, he had already established intense relations with other interesting figures of the period. We remember, for instance, two of his friends in Modena, which were physicists and construc- tors of scientific instruments and, also, were involved in the uprising [1]: Leopoldo Nobili (1784-1835), and Giovanni Battista Amici (1786-1863). Nobili, that had to relocate himself because of his participation to the risings of 1831, is famous for his astatic electromag- netic galvanometer. Amici, after the participation to the temporary government in Mod- ena, had to move to Florence, where he eventually became the Director of the Astronom- ical Observatory, and kept working on the construction of microscopes and telescopes. Some of the witnesses to take into consideration, besides Melloni himself, are Antonio Lombardini and Antonio Gallenga. The former, after teaching Mathematics at the Parma University, was appointed Chancellor. The latter, a student, was one a most politically active figure of the period. Through these contributions, and by relating them with other minor ones, it is possible to reach a deeper understanding of the historical, political and cultural background in Parma from 1829 to 1831, especially about the relevant role played both by University teachers and students and, in particular, by the School of Physics of the University. In sect. 2 we will present Melloni’s life and scientific activity. In sect. 3, the written sources documenting the uprising in Parma and the role played by Melloni will be sum- marized. The peculiar features of the persecution of Melloni, and a conclusive discussion of the meaning of those events on his life, will be presented in the conclusions. 2. – Macedonio Melloni: his life and scientific activity Macedonio Melloni was born in Parma on April 11, 1798, as reported in the Liber Bap- tizatorum from the Battistero of Parma. As customary in those times, he and his elder brothers started their first studies at home with tutors teaching Humanities, Mathemat- ics and Science. Several of his biographers number among his tutors Antonio Lombardini, the future University Chancellor for mathematics, Professor Casa, teaching Logics, and MACEDONIO MELLONI BETWEEN PHYSICS AND POLITICAL COMMITMENT 287 Professor Sgagnoni for Physics. Melloni pursued his studies attending the Academy of Belle Arti under Professor Pasini’s guidance, where he demonstrated great ability both in drawing and painting. In many of his bibliographies it is said that later he moved to Paris in order to improve his artistic education and that, during his stay there, he decided to devote himself to scientific subjects and particularly to Physics, putting on one side his drawing studies [2-4]. A document(1) of Lombardini mathematics, of July 16, 1819, specifies his skills and the goal of his studies in Paris. The document states that Melloni had studied for four years, that he was familiar with the basics of the discipline, that he also had an in-depth knowledge of the theory of series and equations, spherical trigonome- try, conic sections, infinitesimal calculus, and also of applied mathematics, dynamics and statics. Lombardini closes this list of skills by explicitly recommending his student to the teachers in Paris. This is an official document, written by Lombardini on letterhead of the Duchy, countersigned by the secretary and by the president of the University Marquis Filippo Dalla Rosa. Actually, no documents about his studies in Paris have been found. He came back to Parma in 1824, at first as a substitute teacher, and later on the Chair of Theoretical and Experimental Physics and the function of Director of the an- nexed Physics laboratory as for ducal decree issued in 1827 by Maria Luigia Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla. As a professor, he organized lectures, updated the physics laboratory, recruited a laboratory assistant for the laboratory and decided the construction of new rooms and closets where placing the scientific instruments bought from foreign countries with the funding that the sovereign had granted. The unrest of 1830-31, which will be discussed in the third section, caused his dismissal from the university and his later removal. After the revolution, he began his new life as a refugee. At first, he went first to Dole, France, then to Geneva, Suisse, in the laboratories of Pierre Prevoste and Auguste De La Rive. In his Carteggio [5] we find some hints of his relationship with important contemporary physicists like Ampère, Arago, Biot, Doulong and Faraday, the last one a dear friend until the end of his days. He went then back to Paris, hoping for an immediate return to his country. Finally, in 1839, he was called in Naples to become the Director of the new Meteorological Vesuvian Observatory. The love for freedom soon led him to share the revolutionary movements of 1848. After those events, he was fired by all the public jobs and retired himself in Portici, Naples, where he kept working on his instruments until his death (by cholera) in 1854. Turning back to the 1831 facts, the dramatic extent of the change in his private life due to those revolutionary events can be found in his letters about the exile. In fact, on November 15, 1830, at 10 a.m., as a Professor of Physics, Melloni delivered his lecture at the end of which he is said to have inflamed the audience with words clearly hinting to liberal ideas. Probably, Melloni did not make a written copy of his famous speech, as he was used to give impromptu speeches, but some extracts of it have apparently been reconstructed. In his letter of October 15, 1935 to Victor Cousin, Minister of Educazione Nazionale, who was in charge of appointments and subsidies, Melloni describes the risings, his role and responsibilities in them, and the condition as an exile he shares with his brother.

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